Helicopters, general aviation and large commercial aircraft are all regarded as safe and considered an acceptable form of transportation.

A newer addition to the industry is the passenger-carrying drone, and one which is being introduced at speed.

Boeing's GoFly competition has been set up to "foster the development of safe, quiet, ultra-compact, near-VTOL personal flying devices capable of flying 20 miles while carrying a single person" (VTOL refers to vertical take-off and landing).

$US2 million is up for grabs for successful designs and prototypes.

Of the competitors, five phase-two winners were announced in March 2019, and the competition is still ongoing to find the most innovative and optimum solution for a passenger-carrying aircraft.

This type of system has been used with great success with smaller drones in the commercial market.

Current smaller drones have the capability of flying autonomously — no pilot is needed.

A pick-up location and a return location can be programmed into the drone, and it is able to land, take off and fly without pilot assistance.

This is not strictly considered to be an artificial intelligence system.

Drones operate through a series of checkpoints in the sky, which they track all the way to the final destination.

This is reliant on GPS, much like the GPS in your phone or navigating the streets using a Google Maps.

The scaling up of this technology to carry passengers was only a matter of time.

But the clear next step is research on how safe these aircraft are going to be.

This is important not just for future passengers on board, but also for the people and property they will fly over.

Like traditional aircraft which go through a rigorous certification process, drones may be subjected to the same amount of scrutiny.

Smaller drones have found great success in the commercial market.(ABC News: Jonathan Hair)

Due to the simplicity of the drone system, this type of certification may take less time than a traditional aircraft (which can take many years, depending on the complexity of the design being certified).

Fortunately, we have a very proactive regulatory body in CASA.

This authority is seen as a world leader in not only drone policies and procedures for safe drone operation, but it already actively consults and assists people in the drone industry.

It's likely CASA played a role in getting Uber Air trials assigned to Melbourne.

A few nerves

Much like the helicopter when it was introduced back in the 1940s, people are likely to be apprehensive about a passenger-carrying drone in the first instance.